Seating Matter

Last year, as I moved to California one of my sons suffered from a few psychological issues due to the huge move and the big step in our life. He was very isolated and could not blend into the new society easily. He spent most of his school days stressed, crying and feeling lonely. This anxiety that came along with the moving journey was not easy to control. During class, he was moving around distracting the mode of the class and interrupting the teacher to have some attention and occupy a space in the room. The school environment was very overwhelming to him. Everyone spoke Spanish and the Spanish language was the media of communication and friendship making. The teacher tried to buy him stress balls, wiggly chairs and rubber bands to play with, so the anxiety goes away.

However, nothing was working.

There was a huge misunderstanding between theoretically structuring inclusivity and practically applying it. Hypothetically, everyone can preach about diversity and inclusion but when it comes to implication the case is complicated. My son's anxiety was coming from the feeling of being lonely and not included in the class rhetoric. Giving him a stress ball or a rubber band could harm more as the isolation is reinforced and highlighted. It was clear that he was the kid that needed some help and attention. What he was getting, unfortunately, is the message of being not-smart, incapable and not belonging.

The school was over, and his academic performance went down. We decided to move to another school district with the hope that the new environment would embrace him and understand his challenges and his adjustment anxiety. I was apprehensive that I shared his story with his new school staff, the school psychologist and the teacher. Everyone told me that he would be alright and his struggle would go away as he got into his new class.

Frankly said, since day one in his new school, he came home smiling, excited and very motivated to learn and make friends. I was not sure what was magic in this new school that he was not offered in his previous one. As he arrived home, he talked about the flexibility of choosing where to sit, how to relax and what chair he would like to sit on.

The second day's vibes were almost the same as the first day. He excitedly said that he sat on the rocking chair for the entire day. His teacher had a very smart protocol. Every day, she calls student names randomly, and whoever name is called first, can choose the chair-type first. This way everyone receives an equal chance of determining what chair is more comfortable to sit on for the day. Kids go to school very excited because they can try a new chair and a seating position every day without being highlighted or treated as an exception. In this class, everyone is exceptional and requires similar attention regardless of any other accommodations.

My son's attitudes towards school have significantly changed. This protocol gave him a reason to wake up every day excited to try new space in the room. According to his teacher, he did not cry at all and did not interrupt the flow of the class as he used to do in the past. I think, in the past, he was trying to bring attention to him because he had the isolation feeling. This year, he did not need to bring attention because he felt he was included and the teacher must have paid attention to everyone.

I thought such reflection is worth sharing as I have never considered the significance of multiple chair types to promote diversity and inclusiveness.

I decided to visit his class and see what these chairs look like!!!

photos below